Sweet Commutes

The last few days commutes have been fantastic.

First, on Monday I had 30+ mph tailwinds. I made it home in 40 minutes. Ridiculous. No joke, I was going 35 down the bike path no problem.

Tuesday was a little lighter tail winds home, but still pretty nice. Sunny and calm by the time I hit Philly with almost no wind and the bike path to myself.

Today, temps climbed to mid 40s. Sure, there was like a 3 mph head wind and a lot more people out, but my fingers didn't go numb...nice in my book.

Even better than the wind is the traffic. As a bike commuter I love traffic. It's fun to fly by 100+ cars on Gulph Road and look across the river while I'm on the path and realize I'm going faster than the traffic on the expressway.

What does it boil down to:

Riding your bike is fun.

Read It

He says it much better than i do.

http://milesfrombabylon.blogspot.com/2009/01/nanotopia.html

Exercising

So lately I've been cutting my miles down. Way down compared to last year. I'm maybe hitting 125 per week.

I just have different goals for riding now. I can't end up like I did last July, barely able to bench press my own body weight. I was just too skinny. When 32x34 pants are loose, it's time to hit the weights again.

So i ride home form work and get some tempo or speedwork (depending on the day) and do a lot of push ups and situps. And because I have a free gym available through both school and work, I weightlift as well.

And you know, compared to when i was riding 300+ miles a week, I'm a hell of a lot healthier for it. I actually have some energy, don't look like the whitest ethiopian ever, and can move my furniture without help.

I love my bike, but there's more to life then riding your bike for 7 hours. I've never heard a female talk about how great a bod Iban Mayo has. Plus, it's damn cold out and your family misses you. Use the time wisely, lift some weights! Here's my handy guide to winter weight lifting, repeat thrice weekly:

Squats - 5x10
Legg Press - 3x10
Dumbell Rows - 3x10
Shoulder Press - 3x10
Deadlifts - 3x10
Power Cleans - 5x5

If you're not tired, you're not lifting enough weight. Keep track of your progress and start nice and light, slowly working up to where you feel "comfortably challenged."

Self Reliance

I think most of my complaints about the economy, government, taxes, etc boils down to one thing:

There's just way too much reliance on the government these days. There's long list:

1. The government has failed us by not regulating Wall St.
Really though, you're the idiot that invested and lost your money. It's not the governments job to manage your finances. I could talk about this one all day. My wife and I predicted the housing and stock market collapse 3 years before it happened and I'm not that smart.

2. The government needs to bail us out.
Really? I'm befuddled at the notion that borrowing money from China (who has none) or printing more money only to piss away on pork projects is going to do. Lose your job and your house? Great. Time to live off the land. Can't? Good riddance, stop breathing my air. I can't wait to see where they decide to brdges next. Maybe to Obamas home state of Hawaii?

3. The government needs to expand Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security/[Insert Welfare Program] I think I've heard of or met 3 people in my entire life who deserved public assistance. Seriously. Get off your lazy ass and take care of yourself and your family. Why should the government spend millions taking care of people who earn hundreds? Seriously care to give me one good reason?

4. The FDA has failed us by allowing Foreign Matter into our food.
Guess what, food is grown outside, in the dirt. The "foreign matter" is natural. But most people wouldn't understand that which brings me to my next point.

5. The absolutely no "Rugged Individualism" in 90% of the US. We just go along in our half baked lives blissfully unaware of what's around us. We have no idea what's in our food, how to grow it, how to survive, or how to take care of ourselves and our families even at a most basic level.

And this is where I tie it into cycling. If everyone thought of life as a bike ride, we'd all be better off. If I go for a bike ride and get a flat, I fix it and keep going. If I break my chain, I'm probably in for a long walk. If i crash, I clean myself up, assess the situation, and keep going. Sure, it sucks when stuff happens, but you MAKE IT WORK. It's no one's responsibility but my own.

The government supplies the infrastructure to make my bike ride possible, but from there it's all up to me.

Just like on a bike ride, the government is responsible for providing the basic infrastructure that makes our lives possible. To me this ends at transit infrastructure (roads and bridges), utility infrastructure, and basic security and national defense (I'm talking crime investigation and border protection under a strict constitutional interpretation).

That's it. Everything else, we should be on our own. Just like when you crash or flat, it sucks, but you learn from it. And we'd all be better off for it.

Back In the Saddle

So it sure does feel great to be back out on the bike. Is anyone else out there keeping up with the Tour of California? Sure the racing is OK, but there are some funny stories-

"Police in Sacramento are investigating the theft of four Team Astana bikes, including Lance Armstrong's time trial bike, from behind a team hotel overnight.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Konrad Von Schoech told the Sacramento Bee newspaper the bikes were stolen from an unmarked truck that was parked in an alley behind a hotel overnight."

Now I'm going to pause here for a moment...Who leaves 4 TT bikes including a one of a kind custom job (we're probably looking at $100K total) in a van in an alley? I wouldn't leave my Raleigh Rush Hour in my car...a perfect case of more money then sense. I can't wait to hear the Bike Snob's Take on the ultimate in bike thefts. Bring that shit inside!

And then there's the bitching from Leipheimer about not having race radios becasue of the weather which allowed Rock Racing to win a stage. Are pro riders really just monkeys? Do they really get told exactly what to do and have no thoughts of there own? Man...I guess i was giving them more credit then they deserve...how can you not know how to race without someone screaming in your ear? Is lower brain function a side effect of EPO maybe?

Crazy Week

For the Defense Enthusiast, it was a pretty wild week.

First, there's this:

"Yikes! A commercial Iridium communications satellite and a "presumably-defunct" Russian Cosmos spacecraft smashed into one another on Tuesday, more than 490 miles above northern Siberia. It's the first ever sat-on-sat collision, SpaceFlightNow.com reports."

Then, a bit of info comes out in my arena, the Gigapixel camera with 15 cm GSD...wow...

And finally, to wrap it all up, Russia's answer to the SI Swimsuit Issue. The yearly 'Miss Atom' contest...could you imagine the backlash in this country if our government sponsored the 'Miss National Labs' pagent?

And I'm finally back to getting on the bike. I've decided that in the future, I'm sucking up the 100 bucks and flying with my bike...

I want a sign...

that reads " YES, I am indeed pregnant. I am due on March 10th, please dont ask if I'm ready because I dont think there is ever any way to be ready...yes, I know I'm waddling and look very large and uncomfortable, again please dont ask, I dont want to talk about it with you, a complete stranger...yes, I'm okay, this is a common condition and it wont kill me please dont act like I'm sick or contagious"
I feel like my belly is big enough at this point to accommadate said sign

This post is in response to the over-zealous waitress at the restaurant last night (Sabrina's and Spencer's Two--on callowhill...SUPER yummy), the janitor who acts like I'm super fragile and skirts me in the hall, all the chinese ladies in the lab who ask EVERYDAY when I'm due, and really everyone who talks to me at this point if they dont know me very well...

Now, I may be ahem...slightly...larger than I was 8 months ago but I actually feel great (as far as that goes, I dont have alot of the common complaints pregnant women have)...I'm enjoying my baby moving and watching daily as my belly expands...I also LOVE to talk about the baby and how excited we are to hold her and meet her...BUT really?! I dont want to discuss whether I'm ready for labor, my birth plan or deal with your advice/concern etc about how soon March 10th is...yes, believe me, I KNOW it is a mere 4 weeks away

anyway sorry for the bitch-fest...Me, I'm just super happy to have Justin home, and Im looking forward to seeing my family this weekend (even if it is for sad circumstances)

have a great day

NOAA-N Prime Launch

Here's an awesome video of the launch I went to a few nights ago. It was well worth not getting any sleep for three nights. This launch was a NOAA Weather Sat, on a Delta II rocket. The rocket is the white blur on the left, while the tower holding it in place in on the right. We had a great spot to observe about a half mile from the pad which is as close as you can get.

So I might not be able to ride my bike, but the work I'm doing is great...tough trade off. And yes I am a nerd.

Reality Sucks

So I’m out here in California. Trying to be everything to everyone. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible. Something has to give. The people I work with are great. Really smart, really motivated, really successful. I’ve been tapped to follow that track.

But I’m not sure I want to. They have all gotten where they have at the expense of the other aspects of their lives. They never (or rarely) see their families. They own houses in several cities. Not because they’re rich, but because they spend equal time on the road in many places. 4 mortgages are cheaper than 360 nights in hotels. They live and breath work. There are no weekend hikes, or bike rides. No fun vacations, no time playing with the kids. Just work.
Well compensated, but for what? No thanks. I’m about to have a daughter. I want to see her grow up, not hear about it from 3K miles away. I want to be more than a paycheck.

It would be great if there were 36 hours in my day. So I could be awake for 24 and be everything to everyone. I could work 12 hour days and ride my bike, and make dinner, and hang out with my wife. But there are only 24…why spend them at work? I am in one of the most beautiful parts of our great nation and I have already worked 60 hours this week and I have another day left to go before working all weekend.

There is a whole world out there that I won’t get to see. At the rate I’m going I will blow right by it on my way to a place I don’t really want to go. And that’s a shame…

Sun Shine...

Everytime I look at the weather widget for Philadelphia on the right, i can't help but smile.

Temps here in beautiful Santa Maria have been in the 70s. The sun is shining.

Good times. I'd post a picture but I really don't want Labrat stepping out in front of traffic on the Expressway.

Now if I could only figure out how to get out of work and go ride a bike through the wine country...

Just one thing to say

I think its obvious that ALL political figures should have their financial backgrounds and tax records looked in to....geez talk about responsibility and abuse of power! THIS is ridiculous, what makes these people above the law?!

Another milestone...

Its KC again, killing time while my slides incubate...

This morning I found that my wedding band was finally too tight to wear--so after close to 5 years of wearing a ring on my finger, I am ringless and it feels very weird--I remember how conscious I was of that pretty diamond when I first got it and how long it took for me not to know it was there every second, so will it take me as long to get used to not wearing the ring? But I think I've done pretty well, I'm almost a month away from having this baby and I wore my rings longer than anyone I've talked to...it definitely feels like another milestone in this pregnancy though. As I was thinking about it this morning, I found it pretty amusing about how the littlest things were milestones early on (WOW I have a bit of a belly, WOW I can feel her kick) and now, my body and mind are changing daily and I dont notice it as much.

Another thing I was contemplating on my journey to work was how MUCH my thinking and body have changed over the last 8 months...mostly I was realizing how much more confident I am in this whole process than I was to begin with-- overcoming the innate fear of childbirth has been a really recent change--I find myself more and more impatient to hold this little girl and less on my fear of the pain

I cant wait to watch her interact with Justin, to see the world, to experience everything for the first time

Another thing I've noticed about my thinking is that it seems like my brain is no longer in control--call it baby brain or whatever, it feels like cant complete a train of thought, I find myself wandering around the lab without a clue what I was going to go do
anyway I hear its supposed to get worse--great:)

anyway hope everyone has a good day:)